4. 4
Legal framework of the Project
Financial Regulation (1605/2002) and
Implementing Rules (2342/2002)
ENPI Regulation (1638/2006)
and Implementing Rules (951/2007)
CBC Strategy Paper 2007-2013
Indicative programme 2007-2010
Financing Agreements
EC Decision
Practical Guide for External Actions (PraG)
Joint Operational Programme
Call for Proposals
Projects Implementation
Manual
Grant contract JMA - Beneficiary
Directive 2004/18/EC on
Public Procurement
Partnership Agreement
5. About the Grant
How can I ensure the achievement of the
project objectives and therefore its success?
By complying with the contractual commitments described in your approved project proposal and
respecting all legal requirements:
6. What is the PraG?
It is a working tool describing procedures and related standard documents
and contract templates for the programmes and projects of the external
actions of EC
It is to be used for ENPI CBC, as indicated in the Implementing Rules
The specificities of the Programme have to be taken into account (e.g. Special Conditions to the
contract, specific rules defined in the JOP)
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/practical_guide/previous_versions/2
011/index_en.htm
PraG version to be used for
SIDIG-MED:
PraG 2010 update March 2011
7. The Grant Contract
The Grant Contract, signed between the Beneficiary and
the Joint Managing Authority, is the main legal tool
to be used during the project lifetime.
It defines:
•
The project description, its duration, the amount of the grant, …
•
The applicable rules for the project implementation
•
The reporting templates and the terms of reference for expenditure verification
The provisions of the Special Conditions take precedence over all the annexes
Annex I: Part 5 of the Full Application Form – Description of the Project
Annex II: General Conditions applicable to European Union financed grant contracts for external
Actions
Annex III: Budget of the Project
Annex IV: Contract-award procedures
Annex V: Standard request for payment and financial identification form
Annex VI: Model narrative and financial report
Annex VII: Terms of reference for an expenditure verification of an EU financed grant contract for external
actions and model report of factual findings
Annex VIII: Pre-financing guarantee form
Annex IX: Standard template for Transfer of Assets Ownership
Annex X: Partnership Agreement
8. Special conditions
–
–
–
–
Article 1 – Purpose
Article 2 - Implementation period of the Project
Article 3 - Financing of the Project
Article 4 - Narrative and financial reporting and payment
arrangements
– Article 5 - Contact addresses
– Article 6 – Annexes
– Article 7 - Other specific conditions applying to the
Action
9. Some basics:
Know the rules!
– You award a grant on behalf of an ENPI CBC Programme
– Read carefully the Grant Contract and the Partnership Agreement
Focus on objectives and results
– Review and confirm the exact roles and responsibilities of each partner as
outlined in the grant contract and in the Partnership Agreement
– Review and agree the work plan and agree the next immediate steps
– Ensure a shared understanding of the budget, financial obligations and
financial flows
Set up a smooth communication flow
– Appoint an overall coordinator and the other team members
– Agree about reporting obligations (narrative and financial reporting)
– Agree about internal and external communication
Monitoring & reporting
– Six-month monitoring
– Interim and Final Reports
9
10. 10
What comes first?
• The provisions of the Special Conditions take
precedence over ALL the Annexes
• Annex II (General Conditions applicable to European
Union financed grant contracts for external Actions) takes
precedence over the other annexes
Read those 2 documents carefully
before getting started!
11. Start of implementation
• Distinguish between:
– When the contract takes effect = date of last signature
(SIDIG-MED: November 15th 2013)
– When the Project starts = as specified in art. 2.2 of the
special conditions:
The day following that on which the last of the two Parties
signs (SIDIG-MED: project started on November 16th 2013)
• Costs are eligible only after Project start date
Procedures to award sub-contracts for goods, services or
works may be initiated before that date but sub-contracts
may NOT be concluded by the Beneficiary or its partners
before the Project start date
11
12. SIDIG-MED time line
Date of signature of the contract: November 15th 2013
Duration: 24 months
PROJECT
AWARD
END OF
PROJECT
ACTIVITIES
CONTRACT
SIGNED/
START OF
PROJECT
ACTIVITIES
Before
the end of
March
2016
FINAL
SUBMISSION PAYMENT
OF FINAL
REPORT
Costs
not eligible
Costs eligible
Contracting period
Implementation
period
All accounting and project documents
should remain archived and accessible
3
months
Final
report
ing
period
Balance
payment
period
Inspection period
(for 7 years after final payment received)
6 months
.
Reporting
period
Time
..Contractual
obligations...
Costs not
eligible except
costs relating to
final reports,
expenditure
verification and
project evaluation
12
13. 13
Implementation period
•
Distinguish between:
– when the implementation period ends: 24 months after Action start
date (art. 2.3 Special conditions)
and
– when the execution period of the contract ends:
when final payment is paid by JMA
OR
in any case at the latest 18 months after the end of implementation period
Costs are eligible only during the implementation period except for costs
related to final reports, expenditure verification and project evaluation
SIDIG-MED: the date of the last signature is November 15th 2013, the
implementation period starts on 16/11/2013 and ends on 15/11/2015
14. Obligations of the partnership:
key elements
General conditions article 1.3:
Partners take part in the implementation of the Action, and the costs they incur
are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the Beneficiary.
General conditions article 1.3 (as modified by Article 7.4.1):
“The Beneficiary (...) shall undertake that the conditions applicable to it
under Articles 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.2, 10, 11.2, 12.2, 14, 15.5, 15.6, 16, 17
and 18.4 shall also apply to its partners, and those applicable under Articles
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 16 to all subcontractors.
In particular, the Beneficiary should undertake that the conditions
applicable to it under Article 18.6 (according to the text introduced by
paragraph 7.4.6 of these Special Conditions) on the recovery procedure
by the EU Member States and the Commission shall also apply to its
partners.”
It shall include provisions to that effect as appropriate in its contracts with them.
15. The provisions mentioned in article 7.4.1 of the
Special Conditions concern:
Article 1 – General obligations
Article 3 – Liability
Article 4 – Conflict of interests
Article 5 – Confidentiality
Article 6 – Visibility
Article 7 – Ownership/use of results and equipment
Article 8 – Evaluation/monitoring of the Action
Article 9 – Amendment of the Contract
They apply to the
Beneficiary (all), to the
partners (all) and to the
subcontractors (only the
underlined ones)
Article 10 – Assignment
Article 11 – Implementation period of the Action, extension, suspension, force majeure
and end date
Article 14 – Eligible costs
Article 15 – Payment and interest on late payment
Article 16 – Accounts and technical and financial checks
Article 17 – Final amount of financing by the Contracting Authority
Article 18 – Recovery
15
17. Reasons for Modifications
• time constraints;
• some activities cannot be carried out;
• withdrawal of a partner;
• budget needs: some partners are overspending, some underspending
in different Activities/BLs (see Partnership Agreement: The PPs shall
inform the Beneficiary immediately when any need for an amendment
of the project budget occurs).
• ….
17
18. Modifications to the Project and
amendment of the Contract
Legal framework:
Article 7.4.3 of Special conditions to the Grant Contract modifying
article 9 of Annex II (General conditions) :
“Any amendment to the contract, including the annexes thereto,
must be set out in writing in an addendum. This contract can be
modified only during its execution period. …..”
18
19. Types of Amendments (1)
Major amendments requiring always an
addendum to be approved by the JMC
Anything requiring an update of the grant contract (and of its
annexes) is considered as a major change.
Examples of major amendments:
•
•
Transfer among budget headings and/or partners above 15%;
•
Modification to Expected Results/Outputs;
•
Change of the Project duration;
•
19
Partnership change or replacement;
…..
20. Types of Amendments (2)
Limited amendments usually NOT requiring
the approval of an addendum
Examples of limited amendments (in some circumstances they
could require an addendum)
• budget changes below 15% among budget headings;
• budget changes below 15% among partners;
• budget changes within the same budget heading (sub-headings);
• modification of the associates;
• modifications of the activities not involving a modification of project
objectives and results.
ATTENTION: Budget changes (%) are always calculated on the basis of the
approved budget (Annex III of the Grant Contract)
REFER ALWAYS TO YOUR JTS OFFICERS
IF YOU INTEND TO AMEND YOUR PROJECT
20
21. Types of Amendments (3)
Minor changes certainly NOT requiring an
addendum
Examples of minor changes:
• VAT status;
• contact details of the Applicant or partners;
• changes of bank account and changes of auditor (this does not stop
the JMA from opposing the Beneficiary's choice of bank account or
auditor)
• change in the acronym
Minor changes have always to be notified !
21
22. Procedure (1)
Minor changes not requiring an amendment:
• a simple notification to the JTS and JMA must be sent within 30
calendar days.
Limited amendments:
• a notification must be sent to the JTS and JMA. The change must
be notified within 30 calendar days from the moment it has occurred
(prior authorization of the JMA is not needed but it is always
recommended to submit the notification before it has already occurred).
22
23. Procedure (2)
Major amendments requiring the approval of an addendum:
1. Official letter must be sent with the description of the amendment
and the reasons for change (upon request a template is provided
by the JMA).
2. The JTS and the JMA will assess the proposed modifications;
3. If acceptable the JMA will send the request to the JMC in order to
approve the addendum;
4. The Addendum must be signed by both the JMA and the
Beneficiary with the prior submission of a signed addendum to the
Partnership Agreement among PPs.
23
24. 24
Modification of the project duration: an
addendum to the Grant contract is required
The Beneficiary may request an extension of the Action
implementation period (Special Conditions art. 7.2.11
derogating from General Conditions art. 11.1)
– In exceptional and justified cases
– No later than 30 calendar days before the initially foreseen
end of the project
– Request must be accompanied by all the supporting
evidence needed for its appraisal and must be approved
by the Joint Monitoring Committee
To date all projects must end by December 31st 2015
26. Type of reports required during
project life cycle:
Impact
Efficiency &
Effectiveness
State of play
26
27. Article 4 Special Conditions:
• Article 4 – Narrative and financial reporting and payment
arrangements
4.1 Narrative and financial reports shall be produced in support of
payment requests, in compliance with Articles 2 and 15.1 of Annex II
(General conditions).
4
28. Article 2 General Conditions (1):
• Obligation to provide the JMA with all required information on the
implementation of the project : The Beneficiary must draw up interim
reports and a final report and send them to the Joint Managing
Authority within the foreseen deadlines
• Both Interim and Final reports should be drafted in the language of
the project
• Interim reports should accompany every request for payment
• The final report should be sent no later than 3 MONTHS after the
end of the project implementation period
5
29. Article 2 General Conditions (2):
If the Beneficiary fails to supply the Joint Managing
Authority with a final report by the set deadline without
sufficient written explanation, the Joint Managing
Authority may terminate the Contract in accordance with
Article 12.2 a) and recover the amounts already paid
and not substantiated.
6
30. Article 2 General Conditions (3):
•
where the Beneficiary fails to present an interim report and a
request for payment by the end of each twelve-month period
following the date of the start of the implementation, the
Beneficiary must:
and
•
30
inform the Joint Managing Authority about the reasons why
provide a summary of progress in the Project implementation
(six month report)
if the Beneficiary fails to comply with this obligation, the Joint
Managing Authority may terminate the Contract in accordance with
Article 12.2 a) and recover the amounts already paid and not
substantiated.
31. Reporting
Prepare a narrative report of activities: build it up progressively and update it
regularly so that it can be produced rapidly when the threshold for further prefinancing is reached
Give a concise description of the activities carried out (dates, places,
attendees, target groups) and mention the Work Package the activity refers to
For every event/meeting prepare an agenda (respecting visibility guidelines)
and write minutes or a short report with key points/agreed outcomes of the
meeting/event and an attendance list of participants (signed by all)
Take pictures of the meetings and events if possible (showing visibility
requirements have been respected)
Make reporting part of your administrative routine!
Make sure your report is easy to read and to understand.
The narrative report must support and demonstrate the eligibility
of costs included in the financial report!
31
